Black Powder, White Smoke

Classic Books on Civil War Firearms

By Joe Bilby · Originally published November 2018 · p. 6

Since November is the Civil War News annual book review issue, publisher Jack Melton suggested that I nominate some classic Civil War firearms books that still deserve a place on the bookshelves of both scholars and enthusiasts. There are so many and I am necessarily limited in space, but have chosen books that either initiated my own interest in the field or which I consider “go to” references I have used extensively in my own research and writing. Alfred Mordecai, Military Commission to Europe in 1855 and 1856: Report of Major Alfred Mordecai, of the Ordnance Department, Washington, D.C., G.W. Bowman, Printer, 1861.

One cannot discuss the subject of Civil War firearms without considering Alfred Mordecai’s work; as it could be considered the original Civil War gun book, even though his work predates the conflict. Mordecai, a West Point graduate and Ordnance Corps officer who rose to the position of Assistant Chief of Ordnance, was sent to Europe several times by the United States War Department on what would be called today ordnance technical intelligence efforts, to review and report on military arms developments. His first survey was on artillery, which is well worth reading, but the book mentioned here deals with the then current revolution in small arms design and production in Europe. The changeover from smoothbore to rifled infantry small arms, along with the development of new projectiles to load and fire those new arms as fast as the old smoothbores, was a true revolution in armament. Interestingly, in 1856,

New Jersey Governor Rodman Price, who viewed himself rather grandiosely, sent the state’s adjutant general Thomas Cadwallader on a similar tour of Europe, to “obtain correct information as to the most improved arms, tactics and drill, applicable to the efficiency and improvement of our militia system.” Price and Cadwallader were evidently unaware they were duplicating the Federal effort or didn’t care. To his credit, for the first leg of his trip, the adjutant general picked his friend Samuel Colt, the famed firearms inventor who began his small arms manufacturing career in Paterson, N.J., but was then located in Hartford, Conn., as a traveling companion. Cadwallader’s assessment is available online in his annual report to the governor and makes an interesting footnote to Mordecai’s book, which is also available online as well in digitized printed copies of varying quality. Berkeley R. Lewis, Small Arms and Ammunition in United States Service, Washington, D.C., Smithsonian, 1956. Berkeley R. Lewis, who served as an army ordnance officer during World War II, began his research on this subject in 1944 when he concluded that small arms and their ammunition were significant determining factors in the outcome of battles and wars. His work was the first attempt to comprehensively cover the history of 19th century ammunition development. It is fully footnoted and includes tables, American, English and French patent information, technical drawings and detailed descriptions of cartridges used from the Revolution to the Civil War era. Lewis also reproduced quarterly ordnance returns of the era, which give unique insights into the military supply chain. The book is a classic that should be on the shelf of every military historian and collector. Claud Fuller, The Rifled Musket, N.Y.: Bonanza, 1958. Claud Fuller’s work was the first serious study of the primary infantry arm of the Civil War, and one cannot begin a study of this crucial weapon without consulting Fuller’s now out of print book. He covered all models of the rifle musket (yes, I prefer that term) from those manufactured in government armories to the many contractors who contributed arms to the Union war effort. Fuller used a considerable number of primary sources, including contracts and dispute correspondence, as well as review board reports to detail the arms acquisition process. His book also seriously covered accuracy testing and resultant reports, although it should be noted that the ideal results did not resemble actual performance in the field, where most soldiers had minimal marksmanship training. Most of the book’s photographs are from Fuller’s own collection, which was subsequently donated to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. William B. Edwards, Civil War Guns, Harrisburg, Penn., Stackpole, 1962. Edwards’ book, which I purchased when it was initially published, was the bible of gun collectors and the few historians interested in the role of small arms in the Civil War at the time. A pioneering work that covered rifled and smoothbore arms, as well as carbines and revolvers, it has been reprinted several times. Unfortunately, the minor errors, perfectly understandable in a pioneering work, have not been corrected in subsequent editions. Still, the book stands as the first, and highly successful, attempt to cover all Civil War small arms. Although some criticize Edwards for going too far afield because he spends considerable time on contractor scandals, I personally found those details fascinating. Dean Thomas, Round Ball to Rimfire (4 vols.) Gettysburg, Penn.: Thomas Publications 1997–2002. Dean Thomas’s series on ammunition became an instant classic and is a must have for the historian, buff, living history interpreter, relic hunter and collector interested in the details of Civil War weapons and how they were used in the field. You cannot fully understand the performance of a firearm without understanding the ammunition used in it. His work could be characterized as the culmination of what Berkeley R. Lewis began.

Thomas fully explains the concept behind each ammunition variant, where and how it was produced and how it was used, as well as the failure of several designs. Thomas’ books feature excellent photos as well as patent drawings. He produced four volumes: Volume 1 deals with Federal musket and rifle musket ammunition, Volume 2 covers Union carbine ammunition; Volume 3 details Union revolver cartridges and Volume 4 with Confederate ammunition. I constantly refer to it. There are numerous other valuable volumes on the subject of Civil War firearms, including Earl J. Coates’ An Introduction to Civil War Small Arms, Wiley Sword’s Sharpshooters, Firepower from Abroad and The Henry Rifle, Fuller and Steuart’s Firearms of the Confederacy, Coddington’s Arms and Equipment of the Civil War, Todd’s American Military Equipage, 1851–1872, John McAulay’s: Carbines of the U.S. Cavalry, Civil War Pistols, Civil War Breech Loading Rifles and Carbines of the Civil War, Craig Barry’s Suppliers to the Confederacy series, Moeller’s American Military Shoulder Arms, Vol III and Roy Marcot’s Spencer Repeating Firearms are only a few of the titles I see on scanning my book shelves. All are keepers. Joseph G. Bilby received his BA and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and served as a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division in 1966–1967. He is Assistant Curator of the New Jersey National Guard and Militia Museum, a freelance writer and historical consultant and author or editor of 21 books and over 400 articles on N.J. and military history and firearms. He is also publications editor for the N.J. Civil War 150 Committee and edited the award winning New Jersey Goes to War. His latest book, New Jersey: A Military History, was published by Westholme Publishing in 2017. He has received an award for contributions to Monmouth County (N.J.) history and an Award of Merit from the N.J. Historical Commission for contributions to the state’s military history. He can be contacted by email at [email protected].